Irish people less concerned about online privacy than we used to be

Researched published this morning to mark Data Protection Day, shows that Irish people aren't as fussy about online privacy now, as we were six years ago.

Irish people have become more accepting of the potential availability of their personal information online.

The Data Protection Public Awareness Survey, published this morning, shows that concerns regarding privacy settings on social networking sites fell from 61% in 2008 to 49% in 2013.

We are also less worried about what would happen if someone typed our name into a search engine falling from 65% six years ago to 44% now.

1,000 people over 18 were were surveyed and the results show that two thirds believed they've personally experienced an invasion of privacy on some level – mainly by receiving unsolicited emails and text messages, which has seen an increase.

Announcing the survey results, the Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes warned that vigilance should be maintained at all times when posting personal information online.